The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of Kalanchoe blossfeldiana, and hereinafter referred to by the varietal name ‘Forever Maxi Neon Rose’. The new variety is a product of a planned breeding program conducted in Lompoc, Calif. The purpose of the breeding program was to create earlier flowering cultivars with large flower size and full flower clusters over the top of the plant. The new variety was selected from a seedling population which originated from a cross-pollination of a proprietary selection of Kalanchoe blossfeldiana identified as code number 98-109-2, not patented, as the female seed parent with a proprietary selection of Kalanchoe blossfeldiana identified as code number 96-182-2, not patented, as the male pollen parent. Comparisons between the new variety and its parents cannot be made, as the parental varieties no longer exist. The cultivar ‘Forever Maxi Neon Rose’ was discovered and selected in a controlled environment in Lompoc, Calif. Asexual reproduction of the new variety by terminal vegetative cuttings has shown that the unique features of this new variety are stable and reproduced true to type in successive propogations.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of ‘Forever Maxi Neon Rose’. Characteristics that distinguish ‘Forever Maxi Neon Rose’ as a new and distinct cultivar from others known to the breeder include:                1) Medium height;        2) Good lateral and basal branching;        3) No heat delay with night temperatures of 22° C.;        4) Flower color of 53C to 57B;        5) Large flower size of 20 mm;        6) Excellent post-production longevity; and        7) Early to flower, flowering 9 to 9.5 weeks after start of short day treatment.        
Plants of the new variety can be compared to plants of the Kalanchoe cultivar ‘Forever Maxi Orchid’, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 12,413. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Lompoc, Calif., plants of the new variety differed from plants of the cultivar ‘Forever Maxi Orchid’ in the following characteristics:                1) Flower color of the new variety was 53C to 57B, whereas the flower color of ‘Forever Maxi Orchid’ was 63B;        2) Flower size of the new variety was 20 mm, whereas the flower size of ‘Forever Maxi Orchid’ was 18 mm;        3) Time to flower in the summer from the start of short day treatment for the new variety was 9 to 9.5 weeks, whereas the time to flower for ‘Forever Maxi Orchid’ was 9.5 to 10 weeks;        4) Leaf color of the new variety was 147A, whereas the leaf color of ‘Forever Maxi Orchid’ was 147A with a reddish cast to the leaf edges of 181A; and        5) Leaf shape of the new variety is ovate with crenate margins and large shallow lobes, whereas the leaf shape of ‘Forever Maxi Orchid’ is oval with almost dentate margins that are shallow lobed.        